Women Sexual Harassment in workplaces

Do you remember any instance at your workplace where a woman filed a complaint of Sexual Harassment? What happened after that? Did she continue working as before? Was she welcomed and greeted the same as before by her colleagues? Did she leave the company? Did she become distant? Did other women hesitate to come forward to complain? It is not difficult to file a complaint. The difficulties lie in what comes after filing a complaint. For instance, a research paper published by The Economic Times mentioned that close to 80% of women were aware of policies against sexual harassment at the workplace. However, almost 30% of women still hesitate to complain to the internal committee about such incidents. Why Women Stay Silent About Sexual Harassment *Sometimes, the action is part of the problem: Women face the disproportionate experience of Sexual Harassment and have to bear the burden of speaking the truth. Suddenly, from being an employee, she becomes 'the girl who got sexually harassed.' When colleagues see women as victims and do not extend their support, the action becomes part of the problem. *You are asking someone to share their deepest pain: Women who go through such a traumatic incident experienced a massive wave of emotions. They get bewildered, depressed, and anxious. Colleagues and IC members must be careful because they are asking women to share their deepest pain. One wrong comment can add more to the existing torment for her. *They ask insensitive and insensible questions: Sometimes, members of the IC ask questions regarding the incidents in an extremely insensitive way. Asking questions is not wrong. Of course, it is a part of the procedure and essential for the women to speak about it. But the concern here is the tone, manner, and language of the questions that are asked. The questions should be empathetic and carefully drafted so that women do not feel uncomfortable in answering them. Importantly, one needs to be a careful listener. Sexual Harassment Redressal Is Time Consuming Another factor is when women go through such incidents; there are many investigations and procedures to follow. Most of their time is spent following up on the proceedings of the complaints.

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